The UK has seen one of its driest springtimes on record. This follows a dry autumn and winter for northern parts and water scarcity is being highlighted.
Many people in the UK will have been enjoying the warm, sunny and reliably dry weather, And yet as the dry conditions continue, there has to be a nagging doubt, is this okay? Farmers in northeastern Britain have been stressed over their spring fields for weeks now and more water companies are issuing press releases, asking customers to use water wisely.
It’s a story of supply and demand as we head towards summer. There are signs of a change as we near the end of May but will any Atlantic rain reach all parts of the UK? And one unsettled spell won’t undo the months of dry weather that some parts have encountered.
Spring 2025 has been dry, sunny and often warm. Meteorologically the spring months are March, April and May to allow for seasonal comparisons. High pressure has often established itself over the UK blocking any other weather systems from getting near. Although we have seen areas of low cloud off the North Sea this week, there have been plenty of clear skies, and warm sunshine.
The sunshine then lifts the air temperatures by heating the ground. We have had only occasional brief spells of very warm, humid air from the south or southeast. May 1st reached 29.3C at Kew Gardens in London, a record high for that date. It has mostly been the work of the sun lifting spirits, in rather cool north or northeasterly airflows. Unlike in summer heat waves, there hasn’t been high humidity or uncomfortable nights.
“March saw a record-breaking month for sunshine, with temperatures above average and rainfall well below. April 2025 was the sunniest April on record for the UK and again, temperatures were above average and rainfall well below almost everywhere.” MO
Northern Ireland and SW England did see more rain than average for April but northern England and eastern Scotland were very dry.
Yorkshire Water “Reservoir levels are almost 15% lower than average for this time of year” after the region experienced its driest February, March and April spell for 90 years. Data below from Roost Weather * Part month % rainfall
Scotland has had the driest start to the year since 1964 according to Scottish Water “Customers urged to use water efficiently to help maintain normal supplies” on Thursday 15th May
The below graph shows the rainfall amount so far this spring, compared to the 1991-2020 long-term averaging period. The lower dotted dark blue line is the rainfall for spring so far in 2025. The main grey area is more usual average rainfall and the bottom blue line is the driest level on record. Strange that the wettest is marked in a dry looking brown line.
Spring 2025 is, so far, currently ranking as the driest spring in over a century. The previous low record was in 1852 according to Met Office data. A change in the weather is expected around the 23rd/24th, after another dry week. This late shift could interrupt the trend towards record low values for rainfall, and will be gratefully welcomed by farmers and growers.
It might allow the yellow-brown grass to return to green but it won’t be enough to balance out the dry autumn and winter in the north, which is the main time of water replenishment in the UK, for groundwater and reservoir stores. Spring and summer are the seasons when demand is expected to be higher and water companies have to monitor how the supply levels are doing.
Autumn rainfall in central and southern England was higher than average. Winter rainfall, compared to average, was more mixed for England and Wales, dry for Northern Ireland but around average for northern mainland Scotland.
Areas that had a dry autumn and/or winter needed a wet spring to help groundwater and river levels and storage areas. This has not happened.
The mere mention of a hosepipe ban sends many people on social media into a frenzy. An incredibly ill-informed frenzy at that, on Facebook. Just because it did rain a week ago, does not mean that the whole of your region and the place where your water comes from, has had enough rain. For example in northeast England, Kielder Water (the biggest artificial lake in the UK by capacity) releases water from the reservoir into local rivers to reach across the region. “This means rivers such as the Tyne, Derwent and Tees can be kept at minimum levels even when rainfall has been low. This makes more water available downstream for domestic and industrial use.”
Perceptions that “it rained loads in winter” can be checked using the Met Office anomaly maps (see above) and factual rain gauge observations. Our climate is changing, our population has increased. Since the hot summer of 1976 London has increased from 7 million people to nearer 9 million.
As for turning the tap off when brushing your teeth, water is a precious resource so why not? Those with a water meter will be thinking differently now. Anyone with young children will know that the modern advice is not to rinse with water straight after toothbrushing as it'll wash away the concentrated fluoride in the remaining toothpaste. Rinsing dilutes it and reduces its preventative effects.
There is a perception in parts of the UK that we have loads of water and that it rains enough to not be bothered about water usage. Parts of East Anglia and SE England are very aware of water shortages, with water metering, hosepipe bans and even stand pipes appearing occasionally. The SEPA chart above shows how much of eastern Scotland is already facing Moderate water scarcity.
Maybe part of the messaging from the water companies and government, needs to include these seasonal patterns, what is important for robust water supplies across the UK, how our water gets to our homes and continuing education about altering behaviours.
Ask a farmer in eastern/northeast Britain how things are so far this year. These lengthy dry spells affect food production and soil quality. Also, fish stocks can be impacted as the available oxygen decreases in very low river flows or lakes. We have already seen an increase in wildfires, drawing fire teams away from other incidents that occur daily.
The summer months are fickle. Looking at the past five years, 2021 stands out as a terrible wet summer in the south. Others were average or dry. The Met Office outlook does not have a strong signal either way for 2025 as we await the Netweather long-range summer forecast.
Roost weather rainfall data * for first half of the month May 2025 rainfall anomalies (99 sites, with >=14 obs, and >=20 years in climate).
Sum of 24 hour precipitation reports at 0600Z. Anomalies with respect to climate up to and including the 15th
However, climate change is causing warming for our world. And it is expected that drought events (and heatwaves) will occur more often in the UK as will sudden, extreme rainfall events, when torrential downpours in summer cause flash flooding and dramatic runoff. These don’t replenish water stores, they just cause other disruptive issues. We are looking for persistent, decent rainfall to increase the groundwater and river levels and fill the reservoirs and lakes.
At the moment it seems like the overriding solution to the current water scarcity worries, is to just hope and wait for rain. That will become more risky. For the public, more understanding of what is happening logistically across a region or nation would help, also about the historical difficulties, how expensive desalination is and what parts of water saving really make a difference. With the expected shift from high to low pressure by next weekend the weather will change, but will it rain in the driest areas? It won’t be enough to replenish the missing autumn/winter rainfall.
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